The present invention relates to a facsimile device and, more particularly, to a facsimile device capable of holding a communication without interruption even when a receiver thereof is defective.
A facsimile device being called by a remote facsimile device may be, and often is, short of paper, jammed by paper or a document to be transmitted, or otherwise defective. In such a condition, it has customarily been impossible for the calling facsimile device to start on a facsimile communication until the operator at the called facsimile device removes the defect.
In light of this, EP 0, 195258 A2 discloses a facsimile device having a memory circuit which stores the phone numbers of secondary receiving stations. When this type of facsimile device calls a remote facsimile device and detects non-connection due to the busy state or the error of the latter, it reads the phone number of a secondary receiving station out of the memory circuit to call the secondary receiving station. So long as the secondary or substitute facsimile station to be called is used as a spare receiver, the facsimile communication will be held with reliability. However, the phone numbers of the secondary receiving stations have to be registered at the memory circuit of the facsimile transmitter beforehand, requiring an agreement between the transmitting and receiving stations.
Japanese Patent Laid-Open Publication No. 209862/1989 teaches a facsimile device incorporating a switching circuit capable of switching the connection of a telephone line from the facsimile device to another facsimile device. When the facsimile device is unable to receive due to an error occurred therein, the error is detected to cause the switching circuit to automatically connect the telephone line to another or substitute facsimile device. This type of facsimile device has a problem that on the connection of the telephone line to the substitute facsimile device, the telephone line is entirely disconnected from the former, or main facsimile device, making functions available with the main facsimile device practically unusable. For example, when the main facsimile device has the function of an answering telephone, the person at the calling station cannot record his or her message in the answering telephone. Moreover, a telephone connected to the main facsimile device cannot be used at all.